Newman says hospitals won't shut

THE Queensland premier has guaranteed two regional hospitals will stay open amid community uproar over plans to slash health services in central Queensland.

About 500 people reportedly attended a meeting of health officials in Moura, southwest of Gladstone, on Thursday night, over the future of health services in the region.

Residents and the local council feared the imminent closure of the Moura Hospital but on Friday Campbell Newman said it and another hospital in a nearby town will stay open.

"In relation to the [Moura] hospital, it will not close and neither will Eidsvold,' Mr Newman told ABC Online.

"But what we're seeing from that meeting is a resolution to work with the (local health) board and the health minister to devise a new way of delivering those vital health services and keeping the hospital open."

Charles Ware from the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Board told Thursday night's meeting that patient numbers at Moura Hospital had dropped off and moving services to a local medical centre was the best option.

But Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said preserving core hospital services was a priority.

"The only way that I would consent to such a decision would be if I was satisfied that no stone had been left unturned to find a suitable solution in consultation with the community," he told ABC Online.